Cause For Concern
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Sarah smiled back and was about to leave but she stopped herself, "Uh, Lindsay. I do have one more question. That baby… from twenty-five years ago… do you know what happened to it?"
1. The Nightmare

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel._

"No!" Sarah shouted as she ran to her friends, ignoring the sounds of Madam Oedius' laughter. The monster had come back and hit the Rangers hard.

Sarah had been working on the Power stars, but she didn't have enough time. She didn't have one complete. Getting a Power Star to work required a huge energy source. She had modified Kelly's from a weapon Madame Oedius designed, but she couldn't build one from scratch. She had tried everything she could think of, and had spent hours and days in her garage and at the Ranger base trying something.

"Did you really think you could stop me?" Madame Oedius laughed, then turned to the city to cause more destruction. Sarah dropped by Kelly's side and rolled her girlfriend over.

"Kelly?" Sarah called and shook her gently, but Kelly's did rouse. "Kelly?" she called out, a little more desperately.

"Sarah," Preston coughed and the pink Ranger turned to him. She had to set Kelly down as she made her way over.

"Are you okay?" she asked and tried to help him sit up, but Preston cried out in pain.

"You didn't finish in time," he whispered when she lay him back down. "You said you would."

"I… I tried. Preston, I…"

"You didn't try hard enough," Preston said. He stopped breathing after that. Sarah tried to wake him, but he was gone. She stood up and backed away, looking to her friends' lifeless bodies all at once.

She had failed. Her ideas didn't work. They had trusted her to make their Power Stars and she had let them down. They were dead because of her.

"I… I can't do it," she whispered.

-Ninja-Steel-

Sarah woke in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. She patted herself down, then looked out the window at the city.

"A nightmare," she assured herself, and though she knew it hadn't been real, she couldn't go back to sleep. She threw off her blanket and snuck downstairs to the garage.

She had been tasked with creating new Power Stars. Since the Rangers' had disappeared shortly after their final battle with Galvanax, and there was potential for Madam Oedius to make a come back, the Rangers wanted to be ready. Sarah had a passion for invention and solving problems, so it was only natural that this job had been assigned her to.

When she had accepted, she knew it would be tough. Redesigning Kelly's Power Star had been a lot of work, so six would be a headache. But Sarah had severely underestimated just how much she would struggle. She could make the Stars, no problem, but finding a way to power them so the Rangers would be well protected and have all the tools and weapons they needed was proving impossible.

But her friends were counting on her, so Sarah refused to give up. She worked in the garage, reminding herself of her nightmare whenever the thought of giving up crossed her mind. She couldn't disappoint her friends. She couldn't be the reason more people were killed.

Suddenly, the screwdriver slipped from her sweating hand, and Sarah couldn't see where it went. She looked to the table to find it, but her vision seemed to narrow. She could only see directly in front of her. Her heart was racing, the room began to spin. She could feel her hands trembling as she tried to feel around for the screwdriver.

A weight started to build up in her chest, and it was hard to breathe. Sarah planted her hands down on the table to steady herself as she tried to get control of her breathing, but she couldn't.

"There you are," Shane said, though Sarah barely heard him. He came to her side. "Sarah, are you okay?"

She shook her head. Shane grabbed her arms and turned her so she was facing him. He looked to her, "How long have you been up? You're probably exhausted."

Sarah couldn't answer. Shane dragged her out to the kitchen, and sat her down at the table before he started a pot of coffee.

"You need to get ready for school," he said and Sarah felt herself slowly getting back to normal. It was easier to catch her breath and she could see a little better now. The kitchen didn't spin around as much as the garage. "The coffee will be ready after your shower, if you want to wash up."

Sarah had no idea what had happened, and it seemed Shane hadn't noticed anything. Perhaps it was all in her head. She got up and as Shane suggested, she went to get herself ready for school.


	2. The Older Brother

"Hey!" Sarah heard Serena call and looked up from her tools to see the white Samurai looking to her strangely. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Sarah asked and Serena frowned deeply.

"Are you okay, kid?" Serena asked. "You aren't saying much."

"I'm fine."

"Hey," Serena said and put her hand over Sarah's, keeping her from her work. "Look, I'm not just here as a TA. I'm here to help _you_. Be it academic, personal, or Ranger stuff, I'm all ears."

"That's great, but I'm fine," Sarah whispered, then threw down her tools in frustration. She still couldn't figure out how to give power to the Stars and time was ticking.

"This is pretty tough work. Maybe you should take a break?" Serena suggested.

"I have to finish the Power Stars."

"You're not finishing those in a day," Serena said. "Take a quick nap, if you want. I'm sure Madam Oedius won't strike in the next few hours."

"I can't save anyone if I'm napping."

"You'll save yourself, and that's just as important," Serena told her sternly, then removed the tools from her hands. "Look, kid, here is how this works. You're obviously not yourself today, so you get two choices. You either tell me what's going on, no matter how stupid you think it is, or you head to the Ranger base and let yourself have a quick nap."

"Fine," Sarah muttered and stormed off, abandoning her tools at the table as she ducked into the Ranger base. Serena sighed as she watched her go. She saw Mick coming over and turned to the shop teacher.

"I'm worried about her. Something about her feels… off."

"Could it be too much pressure?" Mick asked. "I mean, she has just been tasked with creating six, fully functioning Power Stars from nothing."

"With no realistic timeline," Serena added, then nodded her head. "It could be."

"A nap may be all she needs," Mick reasoned. "The body and the mind don't function well on no rest. Why don't you head home for the day and I'll check up on her after class?"

"I think it's best if I stay here," Serena said. "I'm not just here because the school hired me. Helping kids who need it is who I am. If she needs someone to talk to, I know I can help."

"And if she chooses to speak to you, then I'll give you a call," Mick promised. "But wouldn't it be best if you give her a little space. Let her come to you?"

"Mick…"

"You were a sixteen-year-old girl, once," Mick said. "Would you really have wanted your teachers breathing down your neck all the time when you already feel so vulnerable?"

"Probably not," Serena reasoned.

"Sarah's found herself in quite a bit of trouble lately, but she always finds her way out as well," Mick said. "As much as you want to help, you are still new. The more you poke and prod, the less trust you'll have. You can take a step back, knowing she's in safe hands."

"I'll see you in the morning, then," Serena conceded and picked up her bag. "I'm here for the long haul. For all the Rangers."

"I'll let you know whatever comes up," Mick said, then waved goodbye as Serena reluctantly walked out. He glanced over to the other Rangers, who were the only other students who were in his senior shop class this semester, then pointed to the Ranger base. "I'll go check up on her. Keep working until the bell, alright?"

-Ninja-Steel-

While it was true Sarah needed to get some rest, she couldn't sleep. Not after the nightmares she had the night before. It still played over in her mind whenever she closed her eyes.

"You don't look well," she heard RedBot say and turned to see the robot had glanced away from his work to find her. Since the Rangers had now moved most of their equipment to the Romero barn, the Ranger base could finally be returned to a paint room. RedBot had offered to do the rebuild himself to keep busy. Until Madam Oedius turned up, there was really nothing more for him to do here on Earth.

"I… I'm not feeling great," Sarah answered honestly. "Actually, RedBot, can you tell the others I went home?"

"You don't want to wait?" RedBot asked. "School is almost over. One of your friends might want to walk you home, especially if you aren't feeling well."

"I'll take my hoverboard. That'll get me home faster so I can rest," Sarah told him. She knew her mother and Shane weren't expecting her home right after school, so they wouldn't worry if she wasn't home right away, and the Rangers wouldn't be the wiser to her sneaking off.

"Okay. I'll let them know you went home sick," RedBot promised, but Sarah shook her head.

"I went home to rest," she said. "I'll be sleeping." She didn't want them to come and check up on her. If Kelly or Preston went to her house and asked Shane or Jenny if they could check up on Sarah, they would know she had lied about going home. "You can tell them I'll text them when I'm feeling a bit better."

"If that's what you want," RedBot said and Sarah nodded her head. He waved her off as she grabbed her board and left.

Outside in the garage, Sarah hopped on her board and started to ride. She wasn't completely sure where she wanted to go, but she knew she wanted to get away. Maybe she would ride to the outskirts of the city and be somewhere alone to recollect her thoughts; maybe find a way to finish the Power Stars quickly.

As she went down the street, she heard someone calling out to her and stopped. Worried that she had been distracted and almost bumped into someone, she stopped and hopped off her board. When she turned around, a man several years older than her rushed over. There was something about him that seemed familiar, but Sarah couldn't put her finger on it.

"Hoverboard?" he asked and pointed to her board. Sarah sighed, but nodded as she held it up. Her hoverboard was one of a kind, so it gathered a lot of attention. He wasn't the first person to stop her in the streets to ask her where she had gotten it from. "Did you make that?"

"I did," Sarah said. Normally, if the person was interested, she would tell them a little about how it worked, but she really wasn't in the mood for that today. She was hoping this man would just say 'cool' then walk off.

"That's pretty sweet," he said, then offered his hand, "Sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm Thomas."

There was no need for it, but Sarah didn't want to be rude. She shook his hand.

"Sarah."

"I know," he said and right away Sarah felt red flags go up in her head. There was something about this man that seemed familiar, but she didn't know what and so it was odd that he would already know her name.

"Uh, not to worry," he added when he saw panic cross her face, "Actually, all I know is your name and that you have a real, working hoverboard. My grandmother told me about it. She said you visited her a little while back."

"I… I did?"

"Lindsay Baker," Thomas said. "You and I… we share a mother."

Sarah frowned deeply, "What?"

"My grandmother said she told you about me. Twenty-five years ago, our mother came to her pregnant and she turned her away."

"But she said she had no idea what happened to that baby," Sarah said, recalling the conversation. When she had been to visit her biological grandmother, she had shared that Kathryn had come home many times seeking help in the form of money and that, one of those times, she had been pregnant. It was twenty-five years before, so the baby couldn't have been Sarah. This mean, if the baby had survived, Sarah had a sibling.

And by the looks of it, he had found her.

"She lied," Thomas said with a shrug. "Probably didn't want you coming around and looking for me before she talked to me about it. You know, in case I didn't want a little sister."

"But… but…" Sarah frowned and shook her head.

"There's a lot to explain," Thomas said and offered Sarah a smile as he pointed just down the street to a busy coffee shop, "If you're willing, maybe we can grab a cup of coffee or something and get to know each other a bit."

"I…"

"Come on. It's not every day you meet your big brother," Thomas said and flashed her a charming smile. "You can tell me how you survived our mother, and I can tell you what happened with me."

Sarah looked to the busy coffee shop, then back up at her brother. His face seemed so familiar, she had to trust that he wasn't lying. Not to mention, Sarah hadn't told anyone about her visit to her biological grandmother. For him to know meant he had to be her brother.

"Okay," Sarah said with a nod.


	3. Coffee

"Just put the leftovers in the fridge for Sarah in case she's hungry when she gets home," Jenny instructed Shane as they finished dinner and he started to gather up the dishes. "She might eat with her friends, but just in case she doesn't, I don't want her to starve."

"Sounds good," Shane nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want any help? I can do some light work, you know."

"Jen, climbing the stairs is already pushing it," Shane told her with a shake of his head. "I'm here to help, so let me do that. You just go read a book or something. I've got this."

"I feel bad letting you do all the work."

"Trust me, slaving over chores is much better than having a dead sister," Shane chuckled as he sent her out of the kitchen. "Honestly, go relax."

"You could have picked a better word than slaving if you were trying to make me feel better," Jenny said, but did as her brother wanted and left. Shane gathered up the dishes in the sink and as he started to wash them he heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" he called out, before Jenny tried to get up. Her heart attack had taken a toll on her physically and until she was back in shape, he didn't want her to push herself. If that meant he had to run around the house like a maniac for another couple of weeks, he could gladly do it. He hurried to the door and answered it.

"You look like my mother," Kelly said with a little chuckle when Shane opened the door in an apron and rubber gloves. "You know, before the whole homophobic, conversion therapy, kidnapping ordeal."

"Ha-ha," Shane rolled his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with a man taking control in the kitchen. In fact, women quite like it."

"I'm sure they do," Kelly nodded her head.

"Sarah's not home," Shane then said, assuming that was the reason for Kelly's visit. "Actually, to be honest, I thought she'd be out with you."

"Really?" Kelly frowned. "Because RedBot said she left school early to come home and rest."

Shane looked to Kelly, then stepped outside and shut the door. He didn't want his sister to hear the conversation he was about to have and put more strain on her heart.

"Sarah never came home," he said. "Jenny and I have been here all day and… Sarah couldn't have come in without me knowing."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been in the kitchen making dinner," Shane said. "I would have heard her."

"Well, she is a ninja."

"So am I," Shane said. "Have you called her?"

"I didn't think I'd have to," Kelly took out her phone and tried to call, but Sarah's phone went straight to voicemail. She then tried the data com. "Sarah? Hey, Sarah, are you there? Shane and I are wondering where you are. You never came home."

There was some static on the other end, then the communicator cut out completely. Kelly had a sick feeling in her stomach as she looked up at Shane.

"That can't be good, right?"

"Can those be traced?" Shane asked and Kelly nodded her head. "Can you trace it?"

"I can get an approximate location," she answered.

"Good enough for me," Shane said and opened the door, "Jenny, are you going to be okay by yourself for a bit? I just need to run out to the store."

"You're not going to tell her?" Kelly whispered as Shane grabbed his car keys. He shook his head.

"Are you kidding? And give her a second heart attack? Jenny can't know until Sarah's safe or until we know for sure there's something to worry about."

"She's going to be so pissed when she finds out," Kelly shook her head.

"Trust me, I can handle it," Shane promised. "Just tell me where to drive."

-Ninja-Steel-

Coffee with her older brother had been rather pleasant. While Sarah didn't share all the details, she told him how she spent the first four years of her life with her mother and Drex, and how the more she could recall how that time and been, the more she realized it had been hell for her. Thomas, in some ways, could relate. He said when he was born, Drex and Kathryn kept him around too, using him to bring in more girls for business. Sarah had learned that Thomas was how Drex had pulled in Angel and Jackie, whom she had once considered her aunts.

He then told her how the police had raided the house one night and found him, as well as a houseful of drugs and prostitutes and that was the last he every saw his parents. He had been taken to foster care, where he was placed in home after home, never quite settling down.

He spoke of how much he hated foster care, and that though he knew living with Drex and Kathryn wasn't ideal now, it was all he had known as a kid. Though they were sometimes tough with him, they were still his parents and he loved him.

Sarah couldn't relate to that part at all. Though initially she had missed her mother, life with her father had always been better.

" _It's better when you have a good parent. The system took me out of a bad home and put me in a different one. At least with my parents, I was with family, you know,"_ Thomas had explained, and Sarah had to concede the point.

At some point, Sarah had excused herself to use the washroom. When she returned, she finished up her coffee with Thomas and accepted his cell phone number when he offered it to her. When she got up to leave, she wobbled a little bit. Thomas jumped up to help steady her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and Sarah nodded her head, but the room started to spin. "Do you want me to drive you home? I'm parked just across the street."

"I'll be fine," Sarah said, but when she tried to take a step on her own, she stumbled. Thomas caught her and put his arm around her.

"I'll take you home," he insisted as he grabbed her bag and walked out to his car. With every step, Sarah seemed to slump over more and more. He put her in the back seat, then checked the parking lot to see if there was anyone around, then he closed the door and climbed into the driver's seat. He put Sarah's bag on his lap and looked through it.

"Where's that phone?" he asked, checking every pocket until he found it and then shut it off and tossed it, and the bag, on the seat next to him as he started to drive off.

He was halfway to his destination when he heard what sounded like an alarm. He glanced into the mirror as he heard a voice.

" _Sarah?_ " someone said and he slammed the brakes, put the car in park and turned around, trying to find the source of the voice. As the person continued to speak, he heard her voice was coming from the strange watch on Sarah's wrist and he pried it off her. _"Hey, Sarah, are you there? Shane and I are wondering where you are. You never came home."_

Once it was off, he tossed it out the window, backed up his car and ran over it as he continued to drive.


	4. The Phone Call

Sarah wasn't sure what happened. When she came to, gagged, bound and left on a floor in a dark room, she knew she had been right to worry. She tried to pull on the rope holding her arms back. She tried to wiggle herself free, but it was no use. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream.

Still, she struggled. She tried to get herself out. She could move, just not very much. She tried to remove the gag in her mouth, but like the ropes, it wouldn't give. She tried to scream, but it was muffled. She couldn't make much noise, so she was certain no one could hear her.

Her heart started to race as panic set in. She had to get out. She had to escape. The more time she wasted here, the less time she would have to finish the Power Stars.

-Ninja-Steel-

"Should be just down the street here," Kelly said and pointed to the road ahead. "I don't see her, though."

"You said it was approximate, right?" Shane asked, and Kelly nodded her head. "So, she won't be exactly here."

"I'd feel better if she was," Kelly said. "We're on top of her signal. She'll be anywhere around here."

Shane stopped the car and stepped out, looking around for somewhere Sarah might be. They were outside the city on an old country road. They had passed many trails on the way, which would be perfect if Sarah had been hoverboarding. Shane hoped that was the case. He hoped he would find her quickly and be able to yell at her the whole way home for hoverboarding on a dirt trail without telling anyone.

Unfortunately, he didn't think he would be so lucky.

"Maybe she went on a walk," Kelly said and when she turned around, Shane had disappeared. "Where did you go?"

A red streak flashed across her eyes and suddenly, Shane was standing exactly where Kelly expected him to be. She crossed her arms.

"Warn me before you do ninja stuff. I was about to think you ditched me here."

"She's not around here," Shane frowned. "I checked everywhere."

"That was fast," Kelly said.

"Ninja Streaking. Fastest way to travel, fastest way to kick some ass."

"You sure you didn't move too fast to see her?"

"There's nothing here," Shane said. "I didn't even see a rabbit. There's no life but us."

"But her signal is right here," Kelly insisted as she pulled out her phone. I'm going to try calling her again. Hopefully it's not straight to voicemail."

"I'm going to kill her," Shane muttered as Kelly listened to the phone ring. It was a good sign, at least. It meant Sarah had turned her phone back on.

" _Hello?"_ Kelly finally heard, but this wasn't Sarah's voice. It wasn't even close. This was a man speaking, and as much as Kelly wanted to believe it was Preston, Brody, Levi, Calvin or Mick, she knew it wasn't.

"Who is this?" she asked.

" _Who is this?"_ the man asked. Kelly checked the contact on her phone. She was sure she had dialled Sarah, and she knew the number was right because they texted and called each other all the time. This couldn't be a mistake. Her body started to tremble.

"I'm Sarah's girlfriend. Who are you? Why do you have her phone?"

 _Please say you found it,_ Kelly hoped. It wouldn't be the ideal answer. If someone found it and Sarah wasn't nearby, it meant the phone was lost and they were no closer to tracking Sarah down. But at least it would mean this stranger didn't have Sarah and her phone.

" _Girlfriend, huh? So, you want to see her alive, right?"_

"What? Of course! Who the hell are you?" Kelly asked as she put the phone on speaker for Shane to hear.

" _Right now, that's not important,"_ the man said and then the call ended. Kelly tried to call him back, but the phone went straight to voicemail.

"Dammit!" she shouted and was about to toss her phone in frustration, but Shane caught her arm.

"Keep it. You're his point of contact now," he said.

"This creep has her!"

"He'll make demands," Shane told her. "He'll keep her alive, so he's got leverage."

"It's not exactly life or death I'm worried about," Kelly frowned. "Drex kept me alive, and until that was over with, I wished he hadn't! If Sarah's with a creep…"

"Don't panic," Shane said, like it was something Kelly could control. "Let's call the others, come together and we'll figure something out there. However, what's most important is Jenny can't know about this."

"But…"

"Not until we know what he wants. Not until we have a plan to get Sarah back," Shane insisted, but Kelly shook her head.

"No! We could use her help! She might know who this freak is!"

"She might, but she also might not."

"She would want to know this was happening…"

"Kelly," Shane grabbed the younger girl by the arms and looked directly at her. "I want Sarah to have a mother to come home to, you hear me. We tell Jenny anything before we have a solid plan, that might not happen. You know how she worries. You feel your heart right now?"

"Yeah."

"Hers can't handle that," Shane said, then smiled, "You know the good part about being a Ranger?"

"What?"

"Once a Ranger, always a Ranger. At least, that's what Tori says. That means, as far as I'm concerned, this is Ranger business. We confront this guy like we would any other monster. Against seven Rangers, he won't stand a chance."

"Eight," Kelly said and then started to type something into her phone, "Serena can help here."

"Serena? As in the white Samurai?"

"You know her?"

"We've met once or twice," Shane nodded, though to Kelly, it seemed there was more to the story. She didn't have time to ask about it, though. There were more pressing matters.

-Ninja-Steel-

"You're never going to guess who called," someone said from behind her and Sarah rolled over. She recognized Thomas, the man who claimed he was her brother. He was holding her phone up with a smirk. "Apparently, my little sister is a dyke."

Sarah tried to scream, but it was muffled by the gag. Thomas laughed.

"I gotta say, I never would have guessed. Not that it matters. If I get what I want, you can do whoever you want."

He knelt next to her. Sarah tried to roll away, but he pressed his knee into her chest.

"I didn't tell them where you are," he said, as if that was supposed to reassure her. "We want to build up their panic a little bit. Get them to consider giving into my demands. Imagination is a bitch, and the longer they're left to imagine what I might do, the better my real request is going to seem."

Thomas pressed his knee down into Sarah's chest, then pushed himself up.

"However, we are going to have to make them desperate. They aren't going to rush into making any decisions if they think you're just here having a mini-vacation, will they?"

Thomas drove his boot into Sarah's ribs and her screams were once again muffled as he kicked her around a few times. She tried to stay limp, hoping to minimize the damage he would do, but Thomas hit her hard, especially with his boot.

"Perfect," he said after a few minutes, then snapped some pictures of her with his phone. "Who should I send these too? The girlfriend?" he asked as he went through her contact list. "What about this Brody fellow or… Calvin, or Hayley or Levi or… mom?"

Thomas knelt down and smiled, "Aw, did you find yourself a new mommy? Grans said you were treated well. New mommy must love you very much."

Sarah tried to shout something, but again, it was muffled.

"I think your new mommy might love to get some pictures of you," he said and hit send. "Like school picture day all over again. I wonder if she'll ask for a retake?"


	5. Balance Out

While Jenny did enjoy the peace and quiet, Shane had been gone a while for a quick trip to the store and she was starting to worry. Not to mention, Sarah also hadn't come home yet and it was getting close to curfew. She knew it was best not to worry until after, but Jenny thought this seemed a little odd.

She set her book down next to her and reached out to the coffee table to grab her phone. As she did it lit up, announcing she had a message from Sarah.

"Well, perfect timing," Jenny said with a smile and opened the message. What she saw wasn't what she had been expecting. It took her a minute to figure out what she was looking at, but when she did she let out a little scream. Her heart immediately started to race, and she thought, for sure, this would be what killed her.

With shaking hands and blurred vision, Jenny tried to call her daughter. It rang several times before going to voicemail. Jenny didn't bother to leave a message, certain it wouldn't be Sarah listening anyway. She then called Shane. He picked up, though not as quickly as she'd like.

"You need to come home," she demanded, and Shane asked her to slow down. "Sarah's in trouble. I need you here!"

"Wait, what?"

"I just got a text with pictures of her and… someone hurt her! Shane, I think someone has her!"

"Someone sent you pictures?"

"It's from her phone, but… they're pictures of her and… Shane just get home, please!"

"Send me the pictures," Shane said but Jenny shook her head.

"I can't look at them again. Should I call 911?"

"Jenny, calm down…"

"I can't calm down! Someone has my kid, Shane! Oh god!"

"Jenny…"

"My chest hurts, Shane. I need you to come home."

"I'm calling 911," Shane said. "The ambulance will beat me there."

"Where are you?" Jenny asked.

"I have to hang up. I'm calling 911 for you, Jen, just stay calm okay?"

"Shane!" Jenny shouted but Shane hung up. Jenny gripped the phone tightly in her hand as she went back to her conversation with Sarah. Her eyes watered as she looked to the images and realized she had no idea what to do.

She was completely powerless here.

-Ninja-Steel-

"Creep strikes again," Shane muttered after he put away his phone. He had called for an ambulance to pick up Jenny, knowing that was the best bet for her. As much as he wanted to race to the hospital, so he could help her as quickly as he could, he knew if she had any idea what was going on, she would want him to stay where he was.

He could patch things up with his sister later. Right now, his focus needed to be on his niece.

"Is Jenny okay?" Preston asked and Shane shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. The ambulance should be there soon. Either way, I can't help her."

"If you want to go, you should," Serena insisted. "We can find Sarah without you."

"Jenny would never forgive me," Shane shook his head. "I'm where I need to be."

"Shane…"

"I'm fucked either way, alright," Shane snapped. "Right now, this asshole is forcing me to pick between my sister and my niece and I can't. So, I'm doing what Jenny would want me to do and I'm praying she'll be around long enough to yell at me."

"Alright," Serena nodded, then turned her attention to Kelly. "We're not getting those pictures from Jenny. Try asking Creep if he can send them to you instead."

"Why would he do that?" Calvin asked.

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. There might be something in those pictures that will tell us where Sarah is."

Kelly tried to call first, but he didn't answer, so she sent a text.

"Please don't hurt her," the message said. Now all Kelly would have to do was wait to see if he would fall for it.

" _What if I already have?"_ he texted back and his message was followed by the images. Kelly only glanced to them quickly before she passed her phone to Brody and then rushed out of the barn. When Serena heard heaving, she followed the green Ranger out and caught her puking into the bushes. She pulled back Kelly's hair and gently stroked her back.

"You have to stay strong," she said.

"That's not exactly my strength," Kelly shook her head. "Strong is Sarah's thing. I'm… well, I'm not really sure why I'm a Ranger at all. The Prism just picked me once and Sarah made my Star and…"

"The Prism picked you for a reason. It always does," Serena said. "For my team, it's a family thing. My mother was the yellow Ranger."

"Yellow?"

"My sister was yellow. The eldest child was always next in line to become a Samurai and fight off the Nighlok."

"So, you have an older sister?"

"Little sister. Much younger," Serena shook her head and Kelly looked to her curiously. "When the time came for me to take my place as the yellow Ranger, I was too ill to fight. Emily needed to take my place. For a long time, she didn't think she could. It wasn't until later, we realized she was meant to be the yellow Ranger all along. Fate had stepped in."

"Fate?"

"Well, what else do you call it when things work out exactly as they were meant to by pure chance," Serena said. "Emily was really the best one for our team. She was exactly who they needed. She was never second best, but until she stopped believing that, that's exactly how she fought."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Kelly asked.

"You said the Prism chose you once?"

"Sarah wasn't well enough to fight," Kelly nodded. "With her head it… it wasn't safe. I had to take her… oh. No wait," Kelly frowned. "When Sarah was better, I couldn't morph. Sarah was the first choice. She always is. I _am_ second best."

"Maybe for pink," Serena said. "Green suits you."

"But…"

"You might not have the same strengths as Sarah, but you do have strengths of your own."

"Name one."

"Hey, I don't know you," Serena put her hands up. "Sarah does, though. She fell in love with you. She sees there's something inside you that she needs."

"She needs?"

"I'm a bit impulsive and way too overprotective," Serena said with a chuckle. "I get myself into trouble, sometimes just out of boredom or fear. Sometimes, I don't get into trouble, I cause it. I gave my teammates so many headaches, I'm surprised they never left me for dead. Actually, I know why they wouldn't, Emily would have kicked their asses, but you know what I mean, right?"

"Uh, I guess."

"My husband, he does more thinking before he acts. He doesn't like to dive right into something without knowing what he's getting himself into. We both have our strengths and weaknesses and we balance each other out perfectly. When I get myself into trouble, he can pull me out. And when he needs a little push, I'm always there to give him a good shove."

"So?"

"Sarah's in a bit of a mess and her strength isn't getting her out of this. That means, whatever you've got that balances her out, she needs. It's called a partner for a reason. You help each other," Serena pointed inside the barn, "Those pictures, as sick as they might make you, you need to have a look at them. You need to use your strength, whatever it is, to help pull Sarah out of this mess. We also need you to keep phoning and texting Creep, because if he gets the sense we've got an army of people, never mind Power Rangers, out here looking for Sarah, he's going to panic. Trust me, the bad guys are always more dangerous in a panic."

"I really wish I knew what my strength was."

"When we get Sarah back, you can ask her," Serena smiled.


	6. Cat and Mouse

Dane stepped inside the barn carrying a tray of snacks for the Rangers. He knew they likely weren't hungry, too consumed with worry to even consider food, but he knew they needed to eat. It had been hours since they had locked themselves in the barn and they would be no good to each other, or Sarah, if their stomachs were empty.

"Any news?" he asked, but judging by the bored, frustrated looks on all their faces, there had been silence for a while.

"He hasn't called," Levi shook his head. "And anytime we call or text, he ignores it."

"Anything from the pictures?"

"Unless you know where to find black flooring," Brody shook his head. "There's nothing but the floor and Sarah in the pictures, and they're too dark to pick up on much detail."

"Whoever this guy is, he knows what he's doing," Hayley said.

Dane set down the tray of snacks and turned to Shane, "What about Jenny? Was it a heart attack?"

Shane shook his head. It was the only good news he and the Rangers had received all day. Jenny hadn't suffered a second heart attack, but instead it was just a mild panic attack. Still, she was being kept in the hospital to be safe, but Shane didn't need to worry much anymore.

"Is there someone with her?" Dane asked and again Shane shook his head.

"Parents live out of state and Porter's out of the country on business," he said.

"Would it help if I went?" Dane asked, feeling more than a little useless. Since coming back to Earth, there wasn't much for him to do. He had spent most of his time bonding with his sons and as much as he loved it, he wanted to be able to do more for them. Especially now. "So she's not lonely or freaking out or…"

"Can you?" Shane asked and looked to Dane hopefully. The older man nodded his head.

"Of course. Is there anything I can bring?"

Shane pulled out his keys from his pocket and gave them to Dane, "She might like some pyjamas or something, so she doesn't have to sleep in the hospital gown. Maybe grab a book or something too, she loves to read. Oh, and Squishy."

"Squishy?"

"Sarah's unicorn. It'll be in her bedroom, the door right at the top of the stairs. If Jenny doesn't know where Sarah is, at least she can have Squishy. And tell her, promise her that I'm not going to stop until Sarah's safe. If you must, lie to her and tell her we got a lead or something. Just… don't let her panic, okay? I'll take all her crap, all the blame, all her hate once this is over with, so don't even worry about that."

"I'll take care of her," Dane promised and headed out. Moments after he did, Kelly's phone rang. She jumped up as she answered it and set it to speaker, instructing the others silently not to say a word.

"Hello?"

" _Are you alone?"_

"Sarah's mother is here," Kelly said and while the others looked to her with confusion, Kelly had her reasons. The man had already sent Jenny the pictures, so it wouldn't be a surprise to him to hear that she was involved. In fact, this was probably what he expected.

It would also help Kelly to explain away any strange noises the man heard from one of the others, like breathing or growling.

" _Perfect,"_ he answered. _"And so you both saw my pictures?"_

"We did," Kelly said.

" _So, you'll know I'm not messing around."_

"We know," Kelly nodded. "Look, we just want Sarah home, safe and sound. Whatever you want us to do, just tell us and…"

" _Whatever?"_

"Whatever," Kelly confirmed. "Just tell us what we need to do."

" _I need this done, no questions asked,"_ the man said. _"In fact, there won't be enough time for you to ask questions, do you understand?"_

"I'm not going to waste time with questions. All I want is for Sarah to come home," Kelly insisted. "Just tell me what I have to do!"

The desperation in her voice was real, but Kelly did play it up. This man, whoever he was, wanted to feel like he was in control. Like he had Kelly in the palm of his hand, willing to do anything he asked. She knew if she feigned confidence, it might spook him. He might be considering the possibility that she had a plan in the works, or that she had contacted the police.

Neither were true, but it didn't matter what the reality was. Perception was the only reality that mattered.

" _I need you to get Kathryn Baker out of jail,"_ the man said. _"I want all charges dropped. She needs to be a free woman."_

"Kathryn… Sarah's mother?"

" _No questions asked, remember,"_ the man reminded her. _"Can you do this?"_

"I… I think I can figure something out," Kelly nodded. "But you know, this means I'll have to talk to the police."

She didn't want any surprises. She wanted him to think he could predict all her moves. If she came clean with him about police involvement now, before it happened, he wouldn't feel spooked if the police did want to contact him about his request.

Essentially, she was giving him the power to come up with a plan of his own – before the police called him and threw him off his game, he could figure out what to say so as not to give himself away.

What he wouldn't know was how close to the police Kelly was, and that she was sure she could come up with a couple of tricks of her own that he would never see coming.

" _Do what you need to do, just get her out,"_ the man said. _"Once she's free, Sarah will be free."_

With that, the call ended.

"I'll talk to Gia," Serena offered and looked around to see if anyone would protest. "If anyone can help us here, it's her."

"Wait, we're going to do this?" Preston asked. "We're going to let Kathryn go? After what she did?"

"Do you have any other ideas?" Shane frowned. Preston shook his head.

"Well, no, but… Are we really going to give this guy what he wants, and set her free? Isn't that just… more trouble?"

"You can think of a new plan on the way to HQ," Serena said and then pulled out her car keys, "We'll take my van. We can all squeeze in."

-Ninja-Steel-

"Have you tried tracing the call?" Gia asked and Serena shook her head.

"Sorry, but this team's Noah is kind of the one in trouble right now," Serena said and looked around the room, "And I don't think any of us know how to trace a call."

"I just… I understand we need to do everything we can to get Sarah home quickly but… Kathryn's been charged with two counts of kidnapping, human trafficking and accessory to assault and battery. I also slapped on a couple accessory to sexual assault charges on there, just to be sure something would stick. I can't just… release her. Silver Guardians would become a laughing stock and Eric and Wes would have my head. I may run several branches, but I'm not the boss. You know that, right?"

"Do you have another plan?" Serena asked and gestured to the team behind her. "Because we've gone over everything already and we're out of options. We have no idea who this guy is, where he is, or why he wants Kathryn Baker out of jail."

"He's horny."

"Oh, and you've picked up every other prostitute in the city?" Serena challenged. "Or at least all the ones younger and prettier than the fifty-year-old, drug addicted hooker you have rotting in your cell?"

"Okay, so it's more than just sexual motivation," Gia said and made her way over to her computer. "Maybe I can find a connection."

"And while you do, Creep is beating up Sarah," Calvin pointed out and Gia looked to him.

"Creep?"

"What else are we going to call him," Brody shrugged. Gia shook her head then ran Kathryn's name through her computer, looking for some associates. As far as she could see, everyone known to work with Kathryn was off the streets or dead.

"It's a tough life," she said after she told this to the Rangers. "Most don't even make it to Kathryn's age."

"Maybe he's not an associate. Maybe he's just a friend?" Preston said.

"A hooker with friends. That's funny," Gia said, but she tried Preston's suggestion and considered Kathryn's history. Maybe there was someone she met one of the other times she had been in prison, or someone she met the couple of times she tried rehab. She checked hospital records and found two hits.

"Okay so… nothing here is out of the usual. In 2001 she gave birth to Sarah. Drex was listed as the biological father but that was changed a few years later to Bill Thompson."

"Sarah's real dad," Preston said.

"And there's just one other visit that I have on record here, nine years before. Another birth."

"Another birth?" Shane asked. "Sarah has a sibling?"

"Thomas Baker. Kathryn is his mother and… Drex is the baby daddy," Gia said. "Drex is dead so let's look and see what happened to… whoa."

"Whoa? What whoa?" Shane asked and came over to the computer, but there was too much information for him to decipher it all.

"Thomas Baker is… well, let's just say, I'm glad he's on my radar now. Turns out, he was removed from his parents at the age of eight and placed into… fourteen different foster homes until he aged out at eighteen. Since then, he's been under suspicion for, wait for it, human trafficking."

"What?"

"Takes after his father, I see," Gia said. "There's no guarantee this is your guy but based off Kathryn's records, this is the only person who might miss her. And considering your caller sounds male, I'm willing to bet money this is our guy."

"So, what do we do?" Hayley asked.

"He's got someone we want, we've got someone he wants," Gia said. "I know I didn't like the idea before, but I think maybe we can break Kathryn free, if just for a few hours, and let these Bakers have a little family reunion."

"You're going to let Kathryn go?"

"She won't be going anywhere for long, will she Tiger?" Gia asked and looked to Tiger who had been resting in the corner of the room. "What do you say? You up for a little game of cat and mouse?"

-Ninja-Steel-

"I've always wanted a little sister," Thomas said as he sat on a chair next to Sarah. His boot was pressed down on her chest to keep her from trying to wiggle herself free. "I was always jealous of the other kids at school and how they always seemed to have someone by their side. After me, dad was always careful with mom so as not to get her pregnant again, but I always wished for a sibling."

He looked down at her, "What about you? You ever imagine having a sibling? An older brother, maybe?"

Sarah didn't say anything, and not just because of the gag in her mouth. She didn't want to give him that satisfaction. She didn't want him to think that he had her right where he wanted her.

"I mean, some of the kids in my class would complain. The girls hated their older brothers sometimes, because he would be so annoying and mean, and the guys would think the same of their little sisters, but at least they had someone. I never did. Did you know, out of all my foster homes, none of them had other children? Apparently, after my first group home, they felt I didn't play well with others. They thought I would be better off if all my parents' attention could be focused on me. They didn't realise I just wanted to go home. I just wanted _my_ family."

Thomas got off the chair and knelt over Sarah. He brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled.

"We can be a family now," he told her. "You, me, mom, when I finally get her free. We can start over."

Sarah shook her head. He was her half-brother, and Kathryn had given birth to her, but this wasn't her family. Thomas grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head up.

"We will be a family," he said. "Mom can finally stop working. She can finally let herself relax and you and I, we can take care of her. You take on some clients. You keep them happy and I'll make sure they pay us what they owe."

Sarah shook her head. Why were these men so insistent on selling her to other men?

"What do you mean, no?" he asked with a frown. "You think you have a choice? You think you're meant for anything more than this? I'm your brother. Kathryn is our mother! This is where you belong, Sarah."

Sarah shook her head again and tried to say something through the gag. Before she could finish, Thomas slapped her.

"You little brat," he said. "Do you honestly think because your new mother treats you properly, that she's really the family you deserve? I'm your brother! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Sarah shook her head. Thomas growled, rose to his feet and then kicked her with his boot in the ribs until Sarah seemed to struggle to breath. Then he pulled sat her up, grabbed her by the face, and made her look at him.

"You had better shape up, baby sis, or I'm going to be one of those brothers that makes your existence a living nightmare."

He pushed her back down and stormed off upstairs, sealing the door shut, locking her in the darkness. As he did, he smiled to himself.

His classmates had been right. Little sisters were annoying. Finally, he got to experience that first hand.


	7. No Questions Asked

Letting Thomas believe he was getting his way was counter-intuitive. More than anything, Kelly wanted to take back the power. She wanted to be the one calling the shots because she knew, if that was the case, Sarah would be safe.

However, she knew that wouldn't get her the results she wanted. Whether she liked it or not. Thomas had the power. What she needed to do was know how he would use it.

She wasn't a villain and never intended on becoming one. She liked helping people a lot more than she liked hurting them. One of her biggest regrets to this day was outing Sarah to the school. While there had been virtually no consequences for Sarah because of Kelly's actions, it had still been a shitty thing to do and Kelly lived with that guilt and regret everyday.

Fortunately, that was the worst thing she could say she had done. However, she knew how villains liked to operate. She had done extensive research on the matter for her stories.

It wasn't enough to build an evil character. They needed motivation. Most people weren't evil just for the sake of it. They had dreams and goals of their own that they wanted to see fulfilled and if Kelly hoped to write a decent antagonist, she needed to bring those characters to life, just like she would any hero. Days of research had gone into looking up why bad people acted the way they did and what could possibly motivate them to do bad things.

Power was always at the top of that list. Villains were always seeking power. They liked to think that they were the biggest, toughest, scariest person in the room. They liked when they felt they had a sense of control over everything, and especially everyone.

Thomas seemed to be no different. He grew confident the more Kelly portrayed herself as scared. Her desperation and urgency to get her girlfriend back wasn't just a ruse, but Kelly used her emotions as leverage.

Since Thomas couldn't know that all the other Rangers were aware of what was happened, and she couldn't bring Jenny, Kelly had to go in with only Serena by her side. Serena, fortunately, could play off being Sarah's step-mother.

"I'm telling him everything," Kathryn said. She was bound with cuffs on her wrists and ankles to prevent escape, but that didn't stop her running her mouth. "I'm telling him this is a trap as soon as I see him."

"You do that and…"

"What?" Kathryn challenged, before Serena even had a chance to say anything. "What can you do to me that's worse than prison?"

"Solitary?" Kelly suggested, and Kathryn looked down at her with a growl.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm sure Gia can have something arranged," Kelly said with a shrug and Serena chuckled.

"Not to mention, there aren't many people who argue with someone who carries a gun and walks around with a pet Tiger."

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything," Kathryn stated. "But believe you me, I get the chance, I'm getting out of here and I'm taking my kids with me. Both of them."

"We'll just have to make sure you don't get that chance," Serena said and suddenly Kelly's phone rang. The green Ranger answered it.

"Hello?"

" _Are you at the meeting place?"_

"We are, and Kathryn's here too. Where are you?" Kelly looked around. She wasn't supposed to know what Thomas looked like, or even his name, so she was careful not to give any of that away, but Thomas had asked that they meet on a private spot on the beach, where not too many people could walk. If someone was around, it would likely be Thomas.

However, she didn't see anyone or anything. There were no houses looking over this part of the beach and no cars, vans or trucks nearby. It was completely deserted.

" _You think I'm going to show up?"_ Thomas asked. _"Leave Kathryn. Tie her to a rock or something, I don't care. When you come back tomorrow, Sarah will be there instead."_

"I thought we were making a trade," Kelly argued and looked to Serena, a little worried. She didn't expect this to go flawlessly, but she at least expected Thomas in the area. "I'm not going to give up my only leverage. You don't get Kathryn until I get Sarah."

" _You do what I say and we'll both get what we want."_

"How can I trust that?" Kelly asked. "You're the one who took my girlfriend to start."

" _They took me first,"_ Thomas answered. _"I'm just getting back what was taken from me."_

"Yeah, same here," Kelly said and looked around again for any sign of Thomas. Her eyes caught those of the ninjas, waiting in the distance and she saw them all shaking their heads too. Despite their vantage points, none of them could see Thomas anywhere. "Looks like we're at a bit of a stand still."

" _No stand still,"_ Thomas said. _"You agreed to do what I wanted. You said you would do anything to get Sarah back. Leave my mother by the rocks and tomorrow, you'll have Sarah back."_

"Fine," Kelly said and hoped her tone didn't give away her smirk. Though it was information she already knew, Thomas had let something slip. He referred to Kathryn as his mother. Kelly knew she needed to play like she hadn't caught on, in the hopes that Thomas wouldn't realize, but she also knew this meant that the power was starting to shift.

Serena took a risk, seeing as Thomas wasn't anywhere nearby and used her symbol Power to create a stone around Kathryn's cuffs that she wouldn't be able to lift, keeping her trapped until she was released with a key. Serena showed Kathryn the key, then buried it in the sand while Kelly watched.

"Okay, we're leaving," Kelly told Thomas. "What time should we come back?"

" _Give it a good twenty-four hours,"_ Thomas told her.

"Wait, before I go, I want to know Sarah's still alive," Kelly said. "Can I talk to her?"

" _No."_

"You want me to leave a known criminal here, by herself, in good faith that you'll return Sarah? I'm sorry, but that's not something I think I can do. I have to know my girlfriend is alive right now before I take off."

" _Are you challenging me? Leave Kathryn, or you can listen to your girlfriend die."_

"Fine," Kelly relented. "Sarah, if you can hear me…"

Thomas hung up. Kelly felt a pit in her stomach. Though it was worrying that Thomas wouldn't put Sarah on the phone, Kelly could understand why he would refuse. However, he had given just a little more information away when he hung up as Kelly tried to speak to Sarah. If he didn't want Sarah to hear anything, it had to mean she was still alive.

After all, it would have been much more fun for him to make Kelly think an already dead Sarah had heard her.

"It's going to be alright," Serena promised Kelly as they stepped away. "So far, you're doing great, kid."

"I hope it's enough," Kelly said.

-Ninja-Steel-

Thomas chuckled as he entered the room, coming down the stairs, "Well, there were just a few hiccups here and there. Your little girlfriend asks way too many questions, but that went much smoother than I expected."

He knelt next to Sarah, driving his knee into her stomach, "Are you excited? Mom's coming home. It'll be a fun family reunion!"

Sarah shook her head, but that only made Thomas smirk, "Aw, relax, baby sis, we'll treat you well. It won't be long before you realise this is exactly where you're meant to be. Home."

Sarah tried to scream again, but Thomas slapped her across the face then pressed his arm into her neck until she couldn't breath. Sarah tried to fight him off, but with her arms pinned behind her and her legs bound, she could do nothing more but flail until she was blue in the face.

Just before she blacked out, she could breathe again. Thomas stood up.

"Well, I have to pick up our mother from the beach. Be a good little girl and maybe I'll bring you back a little treat."

The door slammed shut and the room was bathed in darkness. Sarah continued to try and fight her way out, but Thomas was clearly more prepared for this abduction than Drex and her mother had ever been. She couldn't slip from her bonds and she couldn't even pull herself up to escape with them on. At least when it was Drex and her mother, they had given her just enough wiggle room that she could reach safety on her own.

Frustration and anxiety built up as she imagined what might happen if she couldn't be freed. She'd never finish the Power Stars, and he team would be one Ranger short, and have no powers against Madam Oedius.

And it was all her fault.

She let out another muffled cry and started to thrust, begging that the rope would break or that she could slip out. However, she thrust a little too hard and the back of her head smashed into the concrete floor.


	8. Frustrating Silence

Kelly and Serena met up with the others at their vantage point. From here, they could see Kathryn, but she couldn't see them. Once Thomas came to collect his mother, they could grab him, Gia could take him and Kathryn and they could take Sarah home.

"You really think he'll fall for it?" Kelly asked and turned to Gia, who was quick to nod her head.

"You did everything he asked. His mother's here, you've stepped away. He'll show up. This is what he wants. He won't be long. If he's smart, he'll have given himself plenty of time to get away before he expects us back."

It was the longest wait of their lives, but eventually, in the distance, a van pulled up to the beach and a man stepped out. Gia turned to Tiger.

"You catch his scent?" she asked the cat, who nodded. The Rangers had all positioned themselves downwind so that, once he was close enough, Tiger could pick up Thomas scent. Although smell wasn't her best sense when it came to hunting down prey, it was still good for identifying her target.

Fortunately, for her, it was night. This meant, if she had to strike, she would have the advantage, with her sight being far superior to Thomas'. She was sure she would be able to hunt him down, no trouble.

All she had to do was wait for the command.

"It's him?" Gia asked and Tiger nodded again. She couldn't recognize him by smell, but she could see him quiet clearly, even in the dark.

"Where is Sarah?" Shane asked.

"She might be in the van," Gia said. "We wait until Thomas is close to Kathryn, then we strike. Shane, you take Hayley and Calvin to the van. Our priority is getting Sarah home safe. That's your job. The rest of you will follow me. Preston, Levi, Brody, you'll take Kathryn. Make sure, no matter what, she doesn't get away. Serena, Kelly, you'll take out Thomas with me."

"He's digging for the key," Levi announced. Serena reached into her pocket.

"Good thing I have it."

"Go!" Gia called out and the Rangers rushed from their vantage point to their target. Shane, Hayley and Calvin snuck over to the van to inspect it while the rest of them surrounded Thomas and Kathryn. Tiger stayed behind, still waiting on her specific command.

She watched as the Rangers surprised Thomas, catching him off guard with both their presence and their numbers. As they expected, he tried to run while Kathryn tugged on her restraints, doing what she could to free herself.

Tiger watch proudly as Gia took down Thomas as he tried to run and Preston, Levi and Brody stayed close to Kathryn to keep her in custody. Thomas had severely underestimated the group he had been dealing with.

However, she noticed Shane, Hayley and Calvin had left the van and Sarah wasn't with them.

"He didn't bring her," Hayley announced.

"And good thing. You tricked me!" he yelled as he looked to all the Rangers. He wasn't sure which of them was Kelly, Jenny, or whoever he had been talking to, but that didn't matter. They had lied to him. "Let me and Kathryn go or you'll never find her!"

"I think we'll take our chances," Gia said as she slapped some cuffs on Thomas then pushed him in the sand. However, as soon as she turned away to check on Kathryn (she couldn't very well let an inmate get hurt on her watch), Thomas scrambled to his feet and started to run. Kelly was about to go after him, but Gia grabbed her arm and held her back.

"This is what the cat's for." Gia then let out a whistle as a roar fill the air. Thomas glanced back just for a moment to see what could be coming behind him when, suddenly, he tripped over something in his path. After he hit the sand, face first, he looked up to see a tiger standing over him.

"What the fuck!"

"That's my favourite part!" Gia smiled as she came over. Thomas continued to try and run, but Tiger grabbed him by the back of his pants and forced him back into the sand. Then, she lay on top of him. Gia knelt before him. "Where is Sarah?"

"We had a deal."

"I made no deals," Gia shook her head. "You have two choices here, Baker. One, you can exercise your right to remain silent, and suffer the consequences of that. Or, you can exercise your right to free speech and suffer those consequences instead. Here's a trick, you tell us where Sarah is, and the consequence won't be you getting mauled by my pet over here."

"Get your overgrown cat off me."

"She's a real tiger, you know," Gia said. "In case the stripes, the teeth and the claws weren't obvious enough. And, I mean, she doesn't have a taste for human flesh just yet, but that can always change."

"This is police brutality."

"Did I threaten him?" Gia asked and looked to Tiger, who shook her head. Then she turned to the Rangers. "Did I make a threat?"

"Didn't hear anything," Levi shrugged and the others nodded their heads.

Gia sat in the sand and smiled. "You see, Thomas, we're onto your game. You want mommy over here to come back home with you and there will be this big, happy, twisted family reunion. Now, we want the same thing. We want our friend back so we can have our own big, happy, twisted family reunion. Because even though we've got the badges and the law on our side, we're twisted too. But you knew that, because you've already met the underside of my fur-child. So, here's the deal I'm going to make with you. You tell me where my friend is, and I won't turn my back and leave you alone with my tiger while I bring your mother back to my truck."

"You'll find her dead," he said with a smug smirk.

Despite her threat, when Gia saw Thomas wasn't going to give up, she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him out from under Tiger.

"Can I trust you guys to take Kathryn back to the prison?" she asked. "I'll take this ass back to HQ."

"Can you handle that?" Serena asked her and Gia nodded her head.

"I'll have answers for you soon."

-Ninja-Steel-

"Sarah. Sarah, acorde, meu amor," a gentle voice called and pulled her from her sleep. Sarah opened her eyes and glanced around her bedroom before her eyes landed on her father.

"Papai?" she asked, then jumped up out of her bed and ran into his arms. He wrapped her up tight and kissed the top of the head.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. Sarah took a step back, then shook her head.

"How… how did I get here? I was… Thomas? Where is he? How are you alive?"

"I'm not," her father said and Sarah felt her heart break. He put his hand on her shoulder, "But I'm here. I can help."

"Did I escape?" Sarah asked and Bill shook his head again.

"You're still in trouble."

"Are my friends okay?"

"Yes," Bill said, with a little chuckle. "They're worried sick about you. They're looking for you."

"Will they find me?"

"What's going on, Sarah?" her father asked.

"Thomas," Sarah said. "I mean, he's not here right now but you said it yourself, I didn't escape yet."

"I mean aside from him," Bill shook his head. "Sarah, there's something else. Something keeping you down."

"Huh."

"Meu amor, you don't panic this much," Bill said. "You're good in a crisis, Sarah. You always have been. There's something going on. Fale comigo."

"Não."

"Sarah."

"Dad, I'm fine."

"It's the Power Stars," her father said and Sarah frowned deeply. She had no idea where she was, how she had gotten here, or why she could speak to her father. She wasn't about to tell him what was going on until she knew more. Unfortunately, he seemed to know. "Sarah…"

"It's fine, dad."

"Sarah, do you really think you're going to fail?

"Papai!" Sarah growled at her father and turned away.

"You're worried you'll disappoint them."

"No."

"Sarah…"

"I'm worried I'm going to get them killed," Sarah said and turned back to her father. "Just like how I got you killed."

"Oh, Sarah…"

"I overestimated myself then, and looked what happened," she pointed to him. "You didn't stand a chance."

"Eu não culpo você, Sarah."

"Mas é minha culpa."

"Não," he shook his head. "Sarah, listen to me…"

"Everyone is counting on me," Sarah interrupted. "I said I could do it and if I can't… who else will?"

"Tell them you can't do it. They'll understand."

"They'll understand that I got in way over my head _again_."

"You think they blame you for anything?" her father asked. "Fale com eles, meu amor", he said and kissed her forehead. "Eles entenderão."

"But…"

"I love you," he whispered, and Sarah saw him start to fade. She shook her head.

"Dad…"

"I am always with you, Sarah." Sarah nodded her head and looked to her father as he vanished.

"Que saudade, papai."

-Ninja-Steel-

Dane held Jenny's hand. Despite the books he brought and his numerous attempts at conversation, the only thing Jenny could focus on was her phone as she waited to hear more about Sarah.

"Do you think…"

"It's going to be fine," Dane assured her. "You know the Rangers better than I do. You know they'll bring her home safe. These things just… take time."

"She's all I've got," Jenny said and looked to Dane. "If I lose her…"

"I know," Dane nodded. "I felt the same way after my wife passed. My boys were everything to me. When Galvanax attacked, I just knew I had to do everything to keep them safe. Sacrificing my life to the Prism was the easiest decision I could make."

"At least there was something you could do back then," Jenny muttered. "Even if it didn't work out."

"Ouch," Dane winced, and Jenny looked to him apologetically.

"Sorry but… if Sarah doesn't come home, it's going to be a million times worse knowing I did nothing to change that. Knowing I was stuck here, in this hospital bed…"

"And what exactly would you be doing that's better than resting up?" Dane challenged her. "Are you going to fight him? You have to catch your breath just going to the washroom."

"I…"

"Are you going to track him down? Do you have a scanner or know who has her?"

"Well, no, but…"

"You're going to stress over the details. Over the little bumps and changes that happen with every mission, and you're just going to hurt yourself and the rescue. At least here, you're getting better. Now when Sarah comes home, you'll be there for her. You are where you need to be and that's more than enough."

"But…"

"My sacrifice may have protected the Prism, and Levi may have found a way to escape trouble, but I wasn't there for my boys growing up. When Brody needed me most, there was nothing I could do. Levi had to start a whole new life, find a new family, and live with a weight on his chest his entire teenage life. I acted to save my sons, but when they needed me most, I couldn't be there for them, and that's what I regret. You're a good mother, Jenny. You just put way too much pressure on yourself."

"Bill made it all seem so easy."

"Kaye did too," Dane smiled. "Whenever the boys cried, she knew what they needed. If they were hurt, she knew how to make them better and she knew how to get them to fall asleep. I was lost when I lost her. I felt like second place right up until the day the Prism took me. I always imagined my boys deserved more than me."

"Your boys love you," Jenny said. "Clearly, you did something right."

"My best," Dane said. "I wasn't going to let second place keep me from doing my best. Maybe I couldn't be as good as their mother. Maybe I never will be. But I did my damn hardest every day to give them what they needed and that paid off."

Dane took Jenny's hands in his and squeezed them gently. He smiled at her.

"Sarah loves you very much. That isn't an accident."


	9. The Cabin

Gia did everything she could. She looked up Thomas' last known address, contacted former foster parents (who were no help and explained a lot of his behaviours). She reached out to his old social worker to see if there were any places he used to run to when he ran away. She checked old brothels and sent out officers to investigate known ones.

They all led to nothing, and Thomas, still, refused to talk.

"Dammit!" Gia shouted and kicked her desk, causing Tiger to look up. "It's like he just put her in a black hole! There's nothing!"

Tiger tilted her head. That couldn't be true. Sarah had to be somewhere, and Gia would find her.

"Oh yeah, do you want to look," Gia said and turned the computer monitor to the cat.

"You know, I know there's a spiritual connection that's like mind reading and stuff," Rebecca said. "But you still look nuts when you talk to her."

"Shut up," Gia growled.

"She's out there somewhere. Are you sure you checked everywhere Thomas could go? Twice? Like, closets and cupboard and behind bookcases and…"

"He's not a mastermind," Gia said.

"He's outsmarting you," Rebecca retorted. "Look, this guy kidnaps his baby sister and tries to break his mother out of jail. He didn't bring Sarah to the meeting location and he kept her when he came to collect his mother. Clearly his intention was to keep her. This guy is family driven."

"What?"

"I mean, it makes sense. He was ripped from his parents when he was young, then placed in one shitty home after another. From the sound of your phone calls, his foster parents were just as bad for him as his regular parents were, maybe even worse. As much of a dick as my dad turned out to be, I'd rather be with him than stranger dick. Hell, you had to convince me to leave, remember?"

Gia nodded her head.

"So, check family properties, or stuff like that. Drex, Kathryn, someone must have owned or visited some place that would make Thomas feel safe – feel close to his family."

"Long shot, but I've tried everything else," Gia said and did a search for properties or rental agreements until Drex's name, Kathryn's name, or some of their known alias. Drex's properties, where he kept and broke in his girls, came up, as well as some hotel rooms that he had booked and small home deep in the forest.

"Okay, this might be something," Gia said. "He's got a cabin in the woods."

"Creepy. Can we check it out?"

"I'll get the Rangers on it," Gia said and texted what she knew to Kelly. "I've got to write up a report that's sure to get this asshole thrown into some sort of legal pit."

"Legal pit?"

"You know, legal torture," Gia shrugged. "I keep my hands clean, he suffers and never even thinks about doing something like this again."

"Ah. Legal pit. Did Jordan approve of legal pits?"

Gia's silence spoke volumes and Rebecca chuckled, "Well, I can at least see why he did all the paperwork now. Have you ever considered therapy?"

"Serena's my therapy."

"Serena's got no therapy degrees," Rebecca reminded her. "I mean like, serious, intensive therapy."

"I only want to see scumbags suffer. That's pretty well adjusted in my books."

"Yeah, like Dexter," Rebecca muttered.

-Ninja-Steel-

Calvin drove down a long dirt road as he struggled to stay on the path. He had no idea where he was going but was sure Kelly's directions weren't going to steer him wrong.

In the truck with him were the other Rangers. Once Kelly had received Gia's text, they agreed to go while Shane and Serena stayed behind, just in case there was another location they could check out. They wanted to find Sarah as quickly as they could and driving back into the city from a remote cabin in a deep forest wouldn't be the way to accomplish that.

"Are we there yet?" Preston asked but Kelly shushed him. Calvin smiled when he saw a small, two-story cabin appear through the trees.

"I think that's it," he said and stopped the truck. While they had Thomas in custody, Kelly had brought up the point that there was no guarantee he had been working alone. They had tricked Thomas with more people than he expected. It wouldn't have been unfair for him to do the same.

"Brody and I will search the property," Levi said to Kelly. "You guys head inside."

Kelly nodded and as quietly as they all could, she led the team inside. Preston tapped Kelly's shoulder and suggested to her that they check upstairs while Hayley and Calvin remained on the ground floor to look there. Though the cabin wasn't big, Sarah had to be hiding somewhere here. As Kelly and Preston headed to the second floor, Calvin started by opening the closet, while Hayley checked in the bathroom.

"It's not a big place," Calvin whispered as he looked to Hayley, who had moved from the empty bathroom to the kitchen. She started by opening the biggest cupboards there, but as they turned out empty, she moved on to the smaller one. Calvin knew Sarah was small, as she barely came up to his shoulders, but the cupboards and drawers Hayley was searching suggested she was looking more for parts of Sarah, instead of for the whole pink Ranger.

"Can we save those for last?" he asked, and Hayley stopped looking. "I'd rather start with places where we might find her alive."

"Don't think like that, Cal," Hayley shook her head. "Thomas didn't have her phone on him when Gia took him in. I'm looking for that. For proof she was here."

"Oh," Calvin said.

"Check behind some of the furniture," Hayley suggested to him and Calvin nodded. He walked over to the living room and glanced behind the couch and the bookshelf that was there, before he too started to open some drawers. When he pulled on the drawer to the side table, Sarah's phone appeared.

"Aha!" he said and lifted it to show Hayley, "You're a genius, babe."

"Let's hope she's still here," Hayley said.

"Hey, guys!" Preston called from upstairs, "There's an attic in this place. It's small, but we'll be up there. You'll have to shout if you find something!"

"Got it!" Calvin called back. "Sarah's phone is here. That means we're on the right track."

"We'll find her," Hayley promised and then moved out of the kitchen. As she did, she tripped on the old mat that was on the floor. It was tattered and faded, indicating it had been there for a while.

"Hayley!" Calvin called when he saw her disappear behind the cabinets. He rushed over to help her up. "Are you okay?"

"Wasn't graceful," Hayley said. "But I'm fine. Stupid mat's become a tripping hazard. Probably time someone threw it out."

"Right, I'm sure that was next on Thomas's list," Calvin chuckled. "Kidnap Sarah, break mom out of prison, replace old mat."

Hayley let out a little laugh as she kicked the rug aside, so as not to trip over it again. When she did, she saw a door leading under the cabin.

"Okay, that's got to be freakier than an attic," Calvin said as he lifted the latch and pulled the door up. It revealed a staircase that descended into the dark. "Uh… ladies first."

"Great, chivalry now," Hayley muttered and shook her head. She took her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight as she made her way down. Calvin was right behind her.

"What? I've got your back," he said.

When the stairs ended, Hayley flashed her light around the room. Sarah's bright pink shirt was a beacon in the dark.

"Cal!" Hayley said and grabbed Calvin's arm for a second before she raced over. Calvin turned on his light and followed, racing behind Sarah to start working on the ropes keeping her bound while Hayley checked up on the pink Ranger.

"Sarah?" she called and gently tapped her cheek, rousing the pink Ranger slightly. "Sarah, it's Hayley, can you hear me?"

As Calvin removed the gag, Sarah groaned.

"Sarah, are you okay?" Hayley asked.

Sarah groaned again. Calvin freed her arms and started to work on her legs.

"Come on, Sarah," he said. "You got yourself this far. Don't lose us now."

"I can't," Sarah finally muttered out.

"We're here now, Sarah. Hang on, we've got you."

The ropes fell away from around her legs as Calvin finished and Sarah started to push herself up. She was a little shaky, so Calvin sat behind her to keep her steady while Hayley looked her over with the light.

"Are you hurt?" Hayley asked.

"I can't do this," Sarah answered

"You're safe now," Hayley promised her.

"I can't do this," Sarah repeated and Hayley grew more concerned.

"What?"

"Do you smell smoke?"

"What?" Hayley frowned and sniffed, but she couldn't smell anything but musty wood and sweat.

"Let's just get out of here," Calvin suggested as he picked Sarah up. Hayley collected their phones and lead the way up the stairs, shining the light so Calvin could see where he was stepping.

"No luck in the attic," Preston called down as he and Kelly made their way to the ground floor, just as Calvin and Hayley were coming up. "Guys? You still here?"

"We've got her," Hayley called out and appeared from behind the cabinets. Preston breathed a sigh of relief while Kelly rushed over.

"Sarah!"

"Can you guys get Brody and Levi and tell them to meet us at Nitro?" Calvin asked.

"On it," Preston said and rushed out, with Calvin, Hayley and Kelly following him out. Hayley took the keys to Nitro from Calvin's pocket and unlocked the truck before Kelly opened the door. Calvin set Sarah down across the back bench and Kelly climbed in after her. She let Sarah rest her head on her lap.

"Are you okay?" she asked her girlfriend, but Sarah didn't answer. Her eyes were open, but she was staring off into the distance, so Kelly started to count. When Sarah came to, Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. "Not even a minute, good."

Preston returned, with Levi and Brody right behind him. As they were about to jump into the back seat, they realized it was full.

"Maybe we should have taken two cars," Brody said and scratched his head. From his seat at the front, Calvin pointed to the back of the truck.

"She's got plenty of trunk space," he said.

"You want to put us in the trunk."

"Not putting my girlfriend back there," Calvin chuckled, then pointed to Sarah, "Definitely not putting her there."

"Let's just get home," Preston said as he moved to the back of the truck to climb in.


	10. What To Do

"She just seemed really out of it," Sarah could hear… Hayley's voice say. She wasn't too sure who the voice belonged to, but it sounded most like Hayley. "She kept saying she couldn't do this."

"She might have been on the brink of giving up." This sounded like Calvin. "I think we made it just in time."

"Is she okay?" Sarah had no trouble with this voice. This belonged to Kelly, who squeezed her hand. Sarah tried to squeeze it back. "I mean, there's no… head damage, right?"

"Everything seems normal," Sarah heard Mick say. She could recognize his voice too. There was always a certain energetic bounce to it. "For Sarah, of course. We'll have to wait until she's awake to know more. I wish I could say the same about the rest of her. Thomas certainly did a number on her. She'll be in a lot of pain when she wakes up. You need to be gentle."

That, Sarah knew, would be true. She wasn't sure why the others hadn't noticed she was awake already, but there was a lot of pain. It hurt to breathe, it hurt just to think. She remembered Thomas beating into her. She remembered feeling the crunch as his boot connected with her body and she remembered the metallic taste of blood that filled her mouth.

"So, she'll be able to work on the Power Stars, still, right?" This was either Brody or Levi. There was no accent to it… maybe Brody? "In case Madam Oedius shows up?"

"She… she might," Mick answered, and Sarah heard it loud and clear: a disappointed sigh from all her friends. She had finally done it. She had let them all down. She couldn't help them. She couldn't save them. She had gotten herself into this trouble and cost them all the one thing they needed to fight off Madam Oedius if she returned. Panic began to overwhelm Sarah as she imagined the disappointment on her friends faces. She imagined Madam Oedius returning and her not having completed even a single Power Star.

Were they even possible to complete? Everyone else seemed to think so. Everyone else seemed to believe in her, but Sarah had been working on her task for a couple of weeks now and… nothing. There was nothing she could find that would give her and her friends the same kind of power as their Stars.

"Mick?" Kelly asked when the heart monitor started to beep, indicating Sarah's heart was racing. Mick raced over to see the problem, but if he was honest, he didn't know what to do. No one did.

However, Tiger, who was in the corner, having joined Gia once the Rangers called to say they had found Sarah, made her way over to the table and jumped up. Gia called the cat to get down, but Tiger didn't listen and instead lay on top of Sarah. Just a moment later, Sarah's heart rate returned to normal.

"Interesting," Hayley said as she turned to Kelly, "Kody does that with you."

"What?" Levi frowned.

"My night terrors," Kelly explained. "After what Drex did, sometimes I get these vivid nightmares and Kody comes and lays down with me. On top of me sometimes if I need it. It's a bit weird but it feels really good."

"Tiger does the same with me," Gia said as she came over and scratched her cat behind the ears: Tiger's favourite spot. "Usually it's when my anxiety builds up."

"Anxiety?" Calvin asked. "But she's here, she's safe. What's Sarah got to be anxious about?"

"We'll ask her again when she's awake," Mick said, then checked the time on his watch, "You all better head to class. Mrs. Finch won't be happy if you miss first and second period."

"We'll stay here with Sarah," Serena promised the team. "As soon as something happens, we'll let you know."

As the Rangers started to make their way out, Kelly gave Sarah's hand a little squeeze. It worried her greatly that Sarah had yet to come too since passing out in the truck a few hours before, but she knew Mick would have said something if there was anything to worry about.

"I love you," she whispered, kissed Sarah's forehead, then slowly made her way out.

-Ninja-Steel-

"Have you seen her?" Jenny asked her brother, who had come to tell her that Sarah had been found. It was good news, but it was also the only news Shane had to share. Sarah was home. Period.

"I didn't. The Rangers took her to the base. Gia and Serena went with them. I thought I'd come here and tell you."

"Is she okay?"

"I… I don't know. Kelly mentioned her having a seizure in the car and she passed out again later. But nothing else."

"So, you don't know if she's okay?"

"Mick would have said something," Dane assured the worried mother. Though he didn't know Mick well personally, Brody had spoken about the mechanic quite a bit, and how Mick had been something of a father figure to him while they were on Galvanax' ship. Dane knew he could trust him and that Mick only had the best interests of the Rangers at heart. "She's… she's probably just resting. It has been a day and a half since she disappeared. That's draining. Her body, her mind, they have to be exhausted."

"Can I see her?" Jenny asked and looked to Shane, who shook his head. He didn't know how long the hospital would keep Jenny, but the doctors did mention wanting to see her blood pressure drop. They didn't want to release her if she was at immediate risk for a heart attack and risk a lawsuit.

"She's safe," Shane said. "As soon as she's well, I'll bring her in. I'm doing my best here, Jen."

"You'll take care of her?"

"Of course," Shane smiled and laughed a little. He knew Jenny needed the reassurance. It wasn't that she didn't trust him with Sarah, it was that she wanted to know that in her absence, Sarah was in the best of care. "You let Dane take care of you, I'll look after Sarah. You two will be driving us, and each other, mad before you know it."

Jenny rolled her eyes like she didn't believe him, and he knew it was hard for her to take his word. But he left her with that, with his confidence, and made his way down to the school. He had to sneak around to the back, so no one would see him an get suspicious, and entered the base through the entrance in the garage. The Rangers were gone, likely to class, but Mick, RedBot, Gia and Serena were hanging around, with Tiger laying on top of Sarah.

"Well, that's a new one."

"Therapeutic," Gia said. "Though, there's not too much weight, right Tiger."

Tiger let out a huff to indicate she knew what she was doing, and Gia resumed her paper work, crossing her T's and dotting her I's so there would be no way for Thomas to wiggle himself out of this mess.

RedBot was finishing up the final touches of converting the Ranger base back to a paint room while Mick helped, occasionally glancing to the machines he had monitoring Sarah to be sure everything was well. Serena was sitting by the pink Ranger. Shane took the spot next to her.

"So… uh… how is the back?"

"Like it never happened," Serena said, and Shane caught the hint. He nodded his head, then looked to his niece.

"Is she okay?"

"Depends on your definition of okay," Serena answered. "She hasn't woken up, if that's what you're asking, but she's not brain dead, either."

"That's good."

"Then she's okay," Serena said. "Gia said Thomas won't talk. He won't say anything about what he did, how he found Sarah. Did they know each other?"

"I… I have no idea," Shane shrugged. "I just found out that Sarah had a brother. I'm guessing no. I'm sure Jenny would have said something."

"Does she know?"

Shane shook his head. "I thought I'd tell them both together, depending on how much Sarah knows. Thomas could have told her everything or nothing or… I don't know."

"Are you sticking around?" Serena asked. She knew Shane worked at the Ninja Academy in Blue Bay, and it was quite the commute to go back and forth each day.

Shane shook his head. "I can't. I took an indefinite leave this year already and… I can't do that to the guys again."

"They'll understand."

"I know, but… I pay their bills," Shane said. "Jenny can't work if she's got to look after Sarah so I promised I'd help pay the bills and groceries and stuff. As much as Cam and the others would be okay with letting me stay, the Academy can't afford to keep paying me, and compensating Tori and Dustin and they have their own families to get home to, you know. I'll either have to give up my pay, which I can't do, or head back home and…"

"She's in good hands," Serena promised, then flicked her thumb in Gia's direction. "If I can help that hot mess, surely I can help Sarah."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Gia said as she looked up.

"Have I said anything you don't already know?" Serena teased and smiled, then looked back to Shane. "I know it sucks, giving up control. If this were Felix or Quinn, you'd have to pry me away from them, especially if Emily wasn't well either. But money is a huge stress for every family and you'd be doing a world of good if you did provide that stability for them. It's not the help you want to give, but it will be what they need."

"When you put it that way, it sounds a lot better than me leaving," Shane said thoughtfully, then turned to Serena. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"Gia, do I know what I'm doing?" Serena asked and looked to the Silver Guardian.

"No," Gia answered, and Serena's jaw dropped. Gia continued as she smiled at Shane, "But somehow, she always seems to get it right. She's got no idea what she's doing, but she is the best there is."

"Well, she's honest," Shane chuckled. "I'll stick around until Sarah wakes up or until Jenny can be here. After that…"

"You can trust me," Serena promised. "I came here to help."


	11. Waking Up

Over the lunch break, the Rangers were sitting at their usual table, picking at their food. No one really wanted to say anything. The morning had passed with no news, and they were all starting to become very worried. Levi had joined them after he finished serving food in the lunch line. He was no longer a teacher at the school, since their music teacher had returned from leave, but he had offered himself as a full-time volunteer. It meant he had to work odd jobs around the school for very little compensation, but he could hang out with his friends without raising suspicion.

"How did you find her?" Kelly asked, and her attention shifted from the food on her plate to Calvin and Hayley. They seemed a little surprised by her question.

"What do you mean?"

"Like… just… I mean, I know where but… how did you know she was there? Was she tied up or locked up or…"

"Do you really want to know?" Hayley asked. Kelly shrugged her shoulders.

"I want to know what happened," she answered, and Hayley looked around the table, seeing the others were curious.

"Well, Calvin had just found her phone, so we knew she had been there," Hayley said. "I had finished checking the kitchen and when I started to leave, I slipped on the old rug on the floor. I picked myself up and kicked it aside, so I wouldn't trip again if I had to pass, and that's when we found the door to the basement. You and Preston were searching the attic, so we thought we'd check it out. She had to be somewhere."

"And she was down there?" Brody asked. He had been around, searching the property around the house when Sarah had been found, and didn't think to ask who found her. It didn't matter now that his friend was safe.

"She was. It was really dark," Hayley said. "We needed the flashlights on our phones to see. Fortunately, it didn't take long to spot her."

"That's good," Kelly smiled weakly. "And she was talking when you found her."

"I mean… barely," Hayley shrugged. "She just kept repeating that she couldn't do this. I didn't know what she meant. I tried to ask while Calvin untied her. There were ropes around her."

"That explains the burns," Levi said. One of the injuries Gia had noted in her report were what appeared to be rope burns around Sarah's wrists and ankles. Now, Hayley had confirmed that's what they were. "She must have been trying to escape."

"She was drenched in sweat, wasn't she, Cal?" Hayley said and looked to her boyfriend. Calvin didn't answer and instead pushed away his tray, got up and walked away. Hayley sighed as she let him go, then turned back to her friends. "I mean, I can't say what happened. I didn't see her trying to help herself, but she had been sweating and she was exhausted when we found her. Knowing Sarah, she didn't just lay down."

"Did she call for help?"

"She was gagged," Hayley shook her head. "She couldn't make much noise at all. But she didn't even stir until I was there."

"I know he's her brother, but… did it look like he… you know," Kelly said and gave Hayley just a look. Hayley shook her head.

"It was dark down there but it really didn't look like it," she said.

"Good," Kelly whispered, then got out of her seat and walked out. No one followed her, but when Kelly looked back, she could see they were talking to Hayley, likely looking to get some more details from the white Ranger.

Kelly walked down to Calvin's locker and found the yellow Ranger standing there, staring at his things. She touched his arm, which caused him to jump.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Calvin shook his head and slammed his locker shut.

"Is anyone?"

"Some better than others," Kelly said and glanced down to the cafeteria. "I think the some are in there. We're others."

"Huh."

"Well, you're the only one who got up and stormed off," Kelly said. "And I know math's not my thing, but I am pretty embarrassed about telling Mrs. Finch that my favourite pi was key lime."

Calvin gave a little chuckle, then shook his head.

"It's just… between the pictures Thomas sent you and… finding her, like that," Calvin sighed. "I mean, in the moment, all I wanted to do was get her home but once we did that and…"

"You could think about it."

"She was tied up in those pictures, the same way we found her," Calvin said. "Maybe she was like that the whole time. And he just… beat her up. She couldn't fight back."

"I know."

"And Sarah fights," Calvin said and showed Kelly his arms. They were faint, but he still had marks from the scratches Sarah had inflicted on him after she travelled to the past. "If she could do this to me, Thomas would have had a bruise or a broken leg or… something, you know."

"Yeah."

"But he doesn't. The bastard was pinned to the ground by a full-grown tiger, and there's not a mark on him. He beat Sarah up when she was helpless."

"I hate that," Kelly agreed.

"And then he left her. He left her like that and… if we didn't find her, she could still be there. If Hayley didn't trip over that mat…."

"Have I thanked her for that, yet?" Kelly asked. Calvin shook his head and leaned back against his locker.

"How can someone be so cruel?"

"Some people are wired that way. Considering Thomas is Drex's kid, it's probably biological. Though, I'm not sociopathic, so really…"

"But… like, how?" Calvin asked. "I mean, I hit Hayley once in my sleep. I was rolling over or something and suddenly, she cried out and woke me up. When I realized I hit her, I felt like absolute shit, and that wasn't on purpose. He beat her up and he bragged, and he didn't care that he left her for dead. She's hurting, Kelly!"

"I know," Kelly said and reached up, hugging Calvin tight. She knew he was close with Sarah. They could tease and annoy each other, but it was always playful banter and at the end of the day, they were fiercely loyal to each other. If it wasn't her or Preston who found Sarah, Kelly was glad Calvin had been there.

-Ninja-Steel-

Sarah could feel something pressing on top of her and found it oddly comforting. She didn't like feeling restrained, but this felt more protective than restrictive. She felt safe. Curious, her eyes fluttered open and she saw Tiger was lying on top of her, putting just enough pressure to create that safe sensation.

If this was Tiger, then Sarah had to be safe. She couldn't remember her rescue, she wasn't even sure it had happened yet. Tiger could very well be protecting her from something. She felt her heart start to pound in her chest, but before the flood of anxiety could wash over her, Tiger nuzzled her face then got up. She hopped off the table where Sarah lay.

"Sarah!" she heard Shane call out as he appeared over her, looking like she felt. Surely, he hadn't slept. Surely, he had spent the better part of her absence out of his mind – if his appearance was anything to go by. "You're awake! Are you okay?"

"I… what happened?"

"You don't remember?" Shane asked.

Sarah remembered. She had left the school, telling RedBot she would go home. It had been a lie, but she hadn't been feeling right. She took her hoverboard and rode home, but on her way she bumped into a man. He introduced himself as Thomas, her half-brother, and suggested they get to know each other in a busy coffee shop. They talked, they shared similar stories of life with their biological mother, and then Sarah excused herself to the washroom. When she came back to finish her coffee, something didn't feel right.

She remembered she was laying on the floor, bound and gagged, at her brother's mercy. He beat her with his heavy boots and his strong punches and left her broken and battered for hours. He taunted her by telling her that once he got their mother out of jail, Sarah would work for them in the family business: a euphemism for sex worker.

She remembered not knowing if her friends were aware she was missing. She had no sense of time in the dark room where Thomas had left her and after she had blacked out from the beating, she wasn't sure if she had only been gone for a few hours or a few days.

She remembered not knowing if her friends would ever find her. No one knew about Thomas. She barely knew him. She had only agreed to sit down with him alone because he had suggested the busiest coffee shop in the city, and the meeting seemed to be random chance.

She remembered when he left, saying he was going to collect their mother. She remembered waiting hours… days… for him to return and he never did. She started to worry for him, for her. Maybe something happened. Maybe he drove off and left her. Maybe he had been in an accident or gotten himself arrested and no one knew she was here, or that he had taken her.

The only thing she didn't remember was how she had gotten home.

"Where am I?" she asked and looked around. Shane was with her, but so was Mick, RedBot, Serena and Gia. They all looked worried.

"Can you figure it out?" Mick asked her. Sarah could see the empty room, but it took her a minute to remember this was the old Ranger base in the school.

"I'm at school."

"You're safe," Shane promised and squeezed her hand gently.

"Do you know what day it is?" Mick asked her. Sarah shook her head. She had no clue.

"That's not unusual with hostages," Gia cut in, before Sarah's answer worried her friends more. "Time is relative. Days could feel like hours and vice-versa. Sarah, do you remember the year?"

"2017."

"Your Ranger colour."

"Pink."

"Can you read this?" Gia asked and held up her phone. Sarah shook her head. Gia showed her something else, Sarah shook her head.

"What about this?" Mick asked and quickly scribbled something down, then showed her what he wrote. Sarah finally nodded.

"It's my name."

"She can read that?" Shane frowned.

"She mentioned being able to read the main console on Galvanax' ship before she blew it up," Mick said and pointed to his writing. "This is from my language on my planet. Somehow, her brain can decipher this."

"But not English?" Serena asked. "That's just weird."

"It's a mystery," Mick nodded, then looked down at Sarah, "How are you feeling?"

"Everything hurts," Sarah whispered.

"Looks like you took a pretty rough beating," Shane told her gently. "We've already examined you, though. It's all going to heal. It's just going to hurt for a while. You might want to take it easy."

"Sarah," Gia called and the pink Ranger looked to her, "Is it okay if I ask you some questions about what happened? You can say no if you aren't ready."

"I'll tell the others Sarah's awake," Serena said, and then signaled to the others to step out of the room as well. Shane was reluctant to leave, but Serena gently pulled on his arm.

"She's in good hands."

"Are you going to tell her?" Shane asked and looked to Gia, who shrugged.

"I want to know what she knows. Her point of view on everything."

Shane nodded and gave Sarah's hand a squeeze, "I promised your mother an update. The guys can call me if you need anything, alright?"

Gia waited for him to leave, then instructed to Tiger that it would be fine if she hopped back up on the table. The big cat did and sat next to Sarah. She let the pink Ranger stroke her fur as Gia asked her questions.


	12. Anxiety

Shane was downstairs, cleaning the house, getting it ready for Jenny's return home from the hospital. Sarah was in her bed upstairs, with her friends by her side to keep her busy.

"Well, I'm glad my big bro is a lot cooler," Brody said with a slight laugh as he pat Levi on the shoulder.

"I can't believe your mom had two kids," Kelly said. "Doesn't that hinder working if you're a prostitute?"

"You really didn't know?" Calvin asked. Sarah looked down at her hands and shrugged.

"I mean… there was a chance."

"You knew?" Hayley frowned.

"Remember Melanie?" Sarah said, and the Rangers nodded their heads. "Well, when I wanted to help her I knew I'd have to understand her. So, instead of going to talk to mom… I went to visit her mom."

"Your mom's mom? Your grandmother?" Preston frowned.

"She told me how mom ended up on the streets and mentioned she came back home once looking for money and that she was pregnant. I thought it might have been with me at first, but Lindsay said it was twenty-five years ago. But she said she didn't know what happened to the baby. Clearly, she lied."

"Clearly?" Levi asked.

"Thomas said he heard about me from her. He knew it was me because of my hoverboard. I told her I would ride it back home when she said she couldn't give me money for a bus. But I didn't know who he was or that he even existed. I just knew it was possible."

There was a pause, then Sarah looked up, "How did you guys figure it out?"

"He asked for Kathryn to be released from prison," Kelly said. "We figured there had to be a connection. Since we didn't know his name, we looked for your mom's associate and through her medical records and prison records and stuff. We found his birth certificate with her name on it and realized it had to be him."

"Oh."

"But he didn't share anything with you?" Kelly asked. "You didn't know he sent the pictures, or that he was breaking your mother out, or that he was calling us?"

"He took pictures," Sarah had a foggy memory of that. "He… he went through my contacts and said something about Jenny but… If I saw him, he hurt or taunted me. He said once he had mom, I could work for the family business."

"Your family is shit," Hayley said.

"They aren't family," Sarah muttered. Brody sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"You're right," he smiled. "We are. And that's behind us now. You're safe, you're going to heal. In no time, you'll be back at school, back at work…"

"Work?"

"Yeah, the Power Stars," Brody said with a smile and Sarah instantly felt her heart race and her hands start to sweat. The Power Stars! The ones she needed to work on and finish before Madame Oedius showed up. She ones she needed to create to protect her friends. If Madam Oedius returned and she wasn't done, they were all in danger.

She had lost so much time.

"Sarah?" Brody asked when he felt Sarah stiffen up. He snapped his fingers in front of her face and she turned to him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I… what… what did you say?"

"You'll be back to work on the Power Stars," Brody said and there was that smile again. Sarah frowned. His smile faded. "You know, our Ranger suits. You remember that, right?"

"I… I remember."

"Hey, you're not going to switch our colours up, are you?" Preston asked. "I mean, if we had requests, could you honour it?"

"Huh?" Sarah asked and she could feel the room start to spin and her peripheral vision started to fade. She tried to focus on Preston, but she couldn't hear much over the sound of her heart racing.

"We can make requests?" Calvin said, then turned to Sarah with a smile, "Oh man, because I always thought, as cool as the Ranger suits are, what if we got like… an amor update."

"Amor?" Sarah frowned.

"Armour," Calvin corrected her.

" _Talk to them, meu amor."_ Her father's voice ran in her ears and she grabbed her head.

"Sarah?" Kelly called and sat down next to her, pulling her in close. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, then asked the boys to all back off. "Sarah," she whispered. "Sarah, what's going on. You're freaking us out."

"I can't do it," she muttered.

"You can't… can't do what?" Kelly asked, but Sarah shook her head. She pried herself out of Kelly's arms and tried to get up, but as soon as she stood up, she crumbled again. Kelly and Preston caught her and lowered her gently to the floor as Sarah's breathing got heavier. Kelly knelt in front of her, "Sarah, where are you trying to go?"

Sarah didn't answer. She had to focus on taking in deep breathes, but it wasn't enough. The room was spinning, she felt so weak, she was dying.

She had to be dying.

"Sarah, what's going on?" Kelly asked, but Sarah couldn't explain it. Physically, she could barely breathe, but even if she could, she wouldn't know what to say. "Sarah?"

"Move. Move!" Jenny shouted as she burst into the room. She almost shoved Kelly out of the way when she saw her daughter on the floor. She knew what this was. "Sarah, breathe. Just focus on breathing."

Sarah nodded her head and tried.

"Good, good," Jenny smiled when she could see Sarah's breaths were improving. "You're okay, kid. I'm here now. What do you need?"

"I… I can't."

"You can tell me," Jenny assured her.

"The… the Power Stars," Sarah whispered and looked hurt as she spoke.

"You can tell me, Sarah," Jenny promised her again.

"I… I can't do them."

"It's okay," Jenny said and pulled Sarah in for a tight hug as she daughter started to calm. "It's okay, Sarah. That's okay."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, but Jenny shook her head.

"Don't be. You did you best."

-Ninja-Steel-

Mick looked to Jenny in absolute confusion. This had to be the heart attack talking.

"You're banning it?"

"She's not working on those Power Stars," Jenny stated firmly. She wouldn't waver. Sarah had been crying out for help, Jenny wouldn't let it go unanswered. As soon as she came home and heard Kelly asking Sarah to tell her what was wrong, she knew there was trouble. When she walked into her daughter's room and saw her, a crumbled, panic mess, on the floor, she knew she needed to act.

Sarah was strong – fearless, even. Obstacles never stood in her way, and if she had a fault, it would be overconfidence.

For her to have a panic attack over a task meant it far exceeded Sarah's limits. And with the weight of the world on her shoulders, and Sarah's stubbornness to solve any problem she was faced with, Jenny knew she needed to step in on her daughter's behalf.

"Ranger work is banned. She's not helping set up a new base, she's not working on the Power Stars. If Madam Oedius comes back and you need her, she'll be ready for you then, but until that happens, Sarah is back to being a regular kid. She goes to high school, she hangs out with her friends, that's it."

"But if Madam Oedius comes back…"

"You'll figure something out," Jenny insisted to Brody. "The Prism came to you when you needed to fight Galvanax and his crew. Something's bound to pop up if Madam Oedius shows up."

"We don't know that," Mick shook his head, but Jenny growled at him. Mick took a step back. He knew building six Power Stars was a big ask, and when Sarah left school the day of her abduction, he and Serena had already assumed the task was too daunting even for her. However, to hear that she was outright banned from being part of Ranger business unless necessary was a shock.

"Maybe there is a compromise?" Brody suggested. "I mean, none of us can do what she can and…"

"Sarah can't do this, that's the point," Jenny said. "She's done her best. She's given this project her all. There's nothing more she can do."

"But…"

"Brody, she was kidnapped, held captive and beaten by her long-lost creep of a brother, and she's on the floor in tears because of a stupid star," Jenny said and pointed up to the second floor of the house.

"It was a lot of pressure," Serena admitted, then looked to the Rangers, "You're not completely helpless, though. Sarah gave this her best shot. The best thing we can do now is the same. You may not have Powers, but you are still the Ninja Rangers.

"2.0," Shane coughed. Serena rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever. You guys are still Ninjas. You can still fight. Maybe it'll be harder without powers, but there is something we can do."

"I threw my morpher into the ocean and never got it back," Gia stated. "When a new threat presented itself, so did new powers."

"Sarah's your friend, your girlfriend and your student," Jenny said. "Right now, at least, she's a Ranger last."


	13. Getting Better

Preston walked up the driveway to the Thompson house. Sarah hadn't been to school, as expected, so he wanted to stop by to check up on her and see how she was doing. He was surprised, but not shocked, to see her working in the garage. He stepped in while she tweaked on her hoverboard.

"Hey," he smiled, and she looked up briefly.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, and Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't know. A little embarrassed, I guess."

"About what?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow and Preston chuckled.

"Yesterday?"

Sarah gave a nervous nod. Preston shook his head, "Sarah, that's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Then why do I feel it?"

"You're not used to being vulnerable," he said. "This is the first time you couldn't get yourself out of trouble. This is the first time you realize you have limits. It's humbling."

"I guess," Sarah said and looked down at her hoverboard. Preston didn't like this. He didn't like to see her so down. Jenny had explained the day before that Sarah's panic had been triggered by her desire not to disappoint her friends. They had all trusted that she could give them the powers they needed. They had faith she was up to the challenge.

Failure wasn't part of Sarah's vocabulary. He had never seen her fall on her face like this. If something didn't go according to plan, she could adapt, or choose a new road, sometimes seamlessly. This was the first time she had to come to a dead stop.

"Hey, we're not mad or anything," Preston promised her. "Well, I mean, we are, but we're not mad with you. We didn't realize how much pressure this put on you."

"I can't blame you. Neither did I."

"You really are an incredible person, Sarah," Preston smiled. "I mean, you've accomplished more since I've met you than I have my whole life. You're fearless and strong and determined. You're also a little nuts."

Sarah chuckled. Preston's smile grew.

"You remember the day we met?"

"The day we became Rangers," Sarah nodded.

"You told off Victor, you helped me clean up my magic show, and when you saw that… thing in the sky, you ran right towards it. You saw a monster, you fought it. Believe it or not, Sarah, you're the reason I'm a Ranger."

"I believe it," Sarah said with a faint smile. "You'd have never gone to check out something that fell from space."

"I wouldn't," Preston agreed. "I'd have seen it and ignored it. I probably would have sulked a bit about my magic show being ruined. But you made me brave. Forced me into it is maybe a better description, but you make me brave, Sarah."

"I do?"

"You make us all brave," Preston said. "Calvin never would have run for President if you didn't help him. He'd never have written that apology speech for the school and for Hayley without you. You picked Brody up off the ground the day we met him, and reminded him to keep hoping he might find his brother. And Kelly, you remember how scared she used to be. Probably would have rivaled me, you know."

"Maybe."

"When we had no idea where you were, Kelly pretty much led the charge. She knew how to talk to Thomas. She knew what to say, she knew when to play stupid and when to smarten up and… I don't know, but that seems really brave to me."

"She did all that?"

"Yeah," Preston nodded. "And, as for me, your helping me didn't end the day we met, you know. I never would have walked out on my parents if I didn't meet you."

"Great…"

"No, Sarah, that's a good thing," Preston said, and the let out a heavy sigh. "Promise you won't freak out? Promise this doesn't change anything between us?"

"Okay?"

"My mom hates that you're bi," Preston said. "In fact, she things that because you're bi, you turned me gay."

"I know," Sarah nodded, and Preston's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"She posted a comment on Kelly's dad's article. I read them all and… I knew it was her," Sarah said.

"So, all this time you knew about that, and you didn't say anything?"

"Neither did you," Sarah pointed out, and Preston nodded his head.

"Okay point. Anyway, what I wanted to say, is that's not the first time I've disagreed with them. The way my parents treat people and look down on those who are less fortunate than them had always disgusted me. But I never had the guts to say or do anything about it until you."

"What did I do?"

"When mom made those assumptions and those accusations, and when dad supported them, I was backed into a corner. I guess I felt like I had to choose between my best friend and my parents."

"Preston…"

"I still love them dearly, and I still miss them sometimes," Preston said. "But I knew I couldn't stay at home if all I was going to hear was them bad mouthing you, and treating you like less of a person when you're probably twice the person they'll ever be. And I knew, if I needed someone, you'd have my back. We all know that."

"You do?"

"Are you kidding?" Preston chuckled. "Who could always come up with a plan, last minute in battle?"

"I mean…"

"Who always fought the loudest to protect the people she cares about?"

"I guess, I…"

"Who isn't afraid to get her hands a little dirty for a good cause?"

"Me?"

"You," Preston smiled. "Sarah, you've hit one wall. I've probably hit a couple hundred already. This kind of stuff happens and, to be honest, it's kind of refreshing to see it happen to you. It sucks how hard you hit it…"

"Or how hard it hit me."

"But I'm glad it happened, if just so the others and I can remember that even thought you're Sarah Thompson, you're still human. You're still just… a kid, like us. A baby, actually."

"It's just a year," Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Still, you've accomplished so much already. This isn't so much a setback as it is a refresher. A reminder for you not to put so much pressure on yourself, and a reminder to us that we can't depend on you for _all_ our Ranger weapons. We're a team."

Sarah started to tear up as she smiled and jumped into Preston's arms, hugging him tight.

"Thanks, Magic Boy. That helps."

Preston wrapped his arms around her gently, trying not to squeeze too tight, and he kissed the top of her head.

"Anytime," he said and kissed the top of her head. He jumped when he heard Kelly shout.

"Ha! I knew it!" she said and Preston turned to see her leading the other Rangers up the driveway. "I told you he beat us here."

"You guys all came?" Sarah asked and pulled away from Preston. She hugged Kelly tight as her girlfriend came over."

"We missed you at school," Brody nodded. "We thought maybe we'd come by and see if you wanted to hang out."

"I can't leave," Sarah shook her head. "Jenny's grounded me."

"You're grounded?" Levi frowned. "For what? What did you do?"

"I'm _'in recovery',_ " Sarah said with a sigh. "And apparently, that means I can't go to school, ride my board, or head out and get some ice-cream with friends."

"But… we can come over, right?" Hayley asked.

"She's not actually grounded," Kelly explained. "That's just what she calls it when Jenny wants to keep an eye on her. We can still visit, and Sarah can still hang out and have fun. She just needs to be supervised."

"What's the difference?" Sarah frowned, and Levi chuckled.

"You've never actually been grounded before, have you?"

"I have," Sarah said. "It's just as miserable."

"Well, good thing we brought the ice-cream here," Calvin said and pulled out a tub of the treat from behind his back.

"Is it…"

"Would I buy you any other flavour?" Calvin said and turned the tub around, showing Sarah the strawberry label.

"You know, he never buys me ice-cream," Hayley said with a smirk to Sarah.

"She's my favourite," Calvin teased and gently nudged Hayley. Sarah took the tub from him and invited her friends in.

"You can't make too much noise," she said as they gathered in the kitchen. "Mom's been pretty tired so she's sleeping, but she did say that if you guys stopped by, you could all stay for dinner. She'll order pizza."

"Sweet," Preston smiled.

"Levi, Brody," Sarah looked to the brothers, "She said your dad could come over too, if he didn't have any other plans."

"I'll let him know," Levi said as he took out his phone, prompting Calvin to remember the second item he brought. He reached into his own pocket and took out Sarah's communicator.

"Here," he said and presented it to her. "We found this on the road while looking for you. It was a bit smashed up, so I fixed it up."

Hayley cleared her throat.

"We fixed it up," Calvin said. "It's nothing like working on an engine, but I did figure it out. It works. And I know Jenny said you're off Ranger duties until further notice but, just in case trouble doesn't agree, we thought you should have it."

"Thanks," Sarah smiled and strapped it around her wrist. "Do we have any idea what we're going to do, if Madam Oedius does show up again?"

"We'll figure something out," Brody assured her. "In fact, come to think of it, the Prism was never destroyed. Who knows, it could come back if it senses we need it."

"I wish it would have let me keep my magic," Preston said and reached into his cloak, only to pull out nothing. "I am a little out of practice with my usual tricks, right now."

"You'll get there," Sarah smiled. "You made a lot of progress, already. I'm sure if you keep at it, it'll all come back to you."

"Maybe," Preston nodded. "I am planning a show after school tomorrow, if you want to come by."

"Shane's leaving in the morning and I kind of want to stay home with mom. She's pretending she's fine, but she did have a heart attack just recently…"

"Bring her," Preston suggested.

"Hey, pinky," Calvin called out with a smile, catching Sarah's attention. "We're all happy you're well and all, but I didn't buy you that ice-cream so I could watch it melt on the counter."

"Sorry," Sarah smiled and went to grab some bowls while Kelly got out the spoons and started to scoop. As they passed out the frozen dessert to their friends, Kelly leaned in closer to Sarah to whisper.

"You really doing okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Because, if you're not, I can stay over," Kelly said. "I know you're not exactly having night terrors, but anxiety and stuff gets worst at night and…"

"Please stay," Sarah said and Kelly gave her a smile.

"Just let me know what you need."


End file.
